Wrench.



WILLIAM J. STENGER, OF MOHALL, NORTH DAKOTA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lateuted. Jan. 12, 1909.

Application filed. July 27, 1908. Serial No. 445,556.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. STENGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mohall, in the county of Ward and State of North Dakota, have invented a new and useful Wrench, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wrenches of the adjustable jaw type.

The objects of the invention are, the provision in a merchantable form, of a device of the above-mentioned class, which shall be inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation and devoid of complicated parts; a device which may be adjusted rapidly to grasp nuts and bolt-heads of different sizes; a device which shall hold securely the parts which it is the office of the wrench to seize and turn.

With these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, delineated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that divers changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the complete device,

in a plane passed along the side of the shank 1; Fig. 2 shows my invention in longitudinal section, the sectional plane in the upper portion of the figure being passed along the rear face of the shank 1 to a point a short distance above the handle 20, and thence, in the lower portion of the figure, passed through the axes of the openings in which are mounted the rivets 1 1 and 16, the various rivets disposed in the sectional planes being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective showing the movable jaw 5 and the spring 6; Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the handle 20.

In the following description, I have designated the end of the wrench to which the fixed jaw 2 is attached, as the upper end, and the side of the wrench which is placed against the nut to be turned, as the front of the device.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a handle 20 and shank 1, which in its preferred form is rectangular in transverse section. To the upper end of the shank 1 is removably attached the fixed jaw 2. The attachment of the fixed jaw 2 to the shank 1 may be efiected variously; in the form shown, a rivet 3 is passed through the fixed jaw 2, registering with a slot 4 in the rear of the shank 1.

The movable jaw 5 is provided with a central opening 21 adapted to receive the shank 1, the said opening being slightly larger than the transverse section of the shank 1, allowing the movable jaw 5 a slight pivotal movement upon the shank 1. It will be seen that the construction last above described will permit the diagonally opposite edges of the central opening in the movable jaw 5 to engage the shank 1 with a clamping effect.

Embracing the shank 1 is the U shaped spring 6, having its ends attached rigidly to t e front of the movable jaw 5. The securing of the ends of the U sha ed spring 6 is a matter of mere mechanical sliill. I prefer to retain them by the plate 7 which may be forced into clamping effect upon the said s ring-ends by the screw 8, engaging a t readed opening in the lower surface of the movable jaw 5. The spring 6 is the member of my device which is subject to the most rapid deterioration of any of the component parts, and the use of the plate 7 and the screw 8 furnishes a means whereby a worn out or tired spring may be replaced quickly with a new one.

The s ring 6 is bent downward at an angle to the ower face of the movable jaw 5, bringing the rear portion 9 into contact with the rear of the shank 1, the effect of the contact being to maintain diagonally opposite edges of the central opening 21 in the movable jaw 5, in contact with the shank 1. I prefer to fashion the shank 1 without notches, and the movable jaw 5 may, therefore, be slid readily upward, engaging between itself and the fixed jaw 2, the nut or bolt-head which is to be turned. The spring 6 maintains the movable jaw 5 in an operative position, as heretofore described, and when torsion is applied to the object to be rotated, the slight grip of the diagonally opposite edges of the central opening 21 in the movable jaw 5 upon the shank 1, secured by the action of the spring 6, will be increased to a positive The handle of my wrench comprises the parallel handle-pieces 10, which are spaced apart. Shoulders 11 connect these handleieces 10 with the shank 1, and a V shaped utt-piece 12 unites their lower ends. In practlce, the shank 1, handlepieces 10, shoulders 11 and buttiece 12 may be made integral; and this met 0d of construction I prefer, a ferrule 13, having a central opening adapted to engage theshank 1 and the shoulders 11 may be attached to the device by a rivet'14,*o'r similar means, and over the V shaped butt-piece 12 may be placed the cap 15, secured in its lace by the rivet 16. The ferrule 13 is of solid construction and serves to reinforce the shank 1 against bending under the violent strains to which tools of the wrench type are subjected.

Mounted up on the handle-pieces 10 are the oppositely disposed grips 17, theirends abutting against, and terminatedlongitudinally by, the ferrule 13 and the cap 15. 'From the inner surfaces of the grips '17, and integral therewith, project the blocks 18, ada ted to engage the openings between the andleieces 10, forming a rigid and durable haniglle The grips 1'7 ma be held in lace by any of the conventiona methods of t e craft; I hive shown the rivets 1-9 as adaptedto that en It will be noticed that the butt-piece 12 is V shaped and that the cap 15 is provided with a central 0 ening adaptedto engage the a ex of the 'V shaped butt-piece. The butt 0 a wrench is not infrequently subjected to violent shocks, and by the construction shown, the ca 15 is revented from being shoved upwar and t e cracking or brooming of the grips 17 obviated.

' n assembling the wrench, the end of the shank 1 is passed through the ferrule 13 and the ferrule slid downward into bearing with the shoulders 11 and there secured. The movable jaw -5 is mounted upon the shank 1, .and finally, the fixed jaw 2 is secured to the to of the shank 1.

aving thus described my invention, my claims are as follows:

1 In a device of the class described, a shank; slida'bl mounted upon the shank, a movable jaw liaving a central opening arranged to receive the shank; a plate arranged to be clam ed to the front of the movable jaw; a U-s aped spring having its ends se-' cured between the plate and the jaw, the said spring being bent downward at an angle to the lower face of the movable jaw into contact with the rear of the shank.

' 2. In a device of the class described, a shank; a fixed j aw removably mounted'upon the shank; parallel handle pieces, spaced apart; shoulders uniting the handle pieces with the shank; a vt-shaped butt piece uniting the ends of the handle pieces; the said shank, handle pieces, shoulders and butt iece being formed integrally; a ferrule embracing the shank and the shoulders, and having a central opening adapted to engage said shank and shoulders; a cap covering the butt piece; oppositely disposed grips mounted upon the handle pieces and terminated longitudinally by the ferrule and the cap; blocks projecting inwardly'from the grips and integral therewith, and adapted to register with the space between the handle pieces.

3. In a'device of the class described, a shank; a fixed jaw removably mounted upon the shank; a movable jaw slidably mounted upon the shank; parallel handle pieces spaced apart; shoulders uniting the handle pieces with the shank; a V-shaped buttpiece uniting the ends of the handle pieces; the said shank, handle pieces, shoulders and butt-piece being formed integrally; a ferrule embracing the shank and the shoulders, and having acentral opening adapted to engage said shank and shoulder; a cap covering the butt-piece oppositely disposed grips mounted upon the handle pieces and terminated longitudinally by the ferrule and the cap; blocks projecting inwardly from the grips and inte ral therewith, and adapted to register the space between the handle pieces.

4. In a device of the class described, a shank; parallel handle pieces spaced apart; shoulders uniting the handle pieces with the shank; a V-shaped butt-piece uniting the ends of the handle pieces; the said shank, handle pieces, shoulders and butt-piece being formed integrally; a ferrule embracing the shank and the shoulders, and having a central opening adapted to enga e said shank and shoulders; a cap coveringt he butt-piece oppositely disposed grips mounted upon the jaw having a central opening arranged to receive the shank and larger than the transverse section of the shank; a U shaped spring having its ends secured to the front of the movable jaw, the said spring being bent downward at an angle to the lower face of the movable jaw into contact with the rear of the shank and arranged to hold diagonally opposite edges of the opening in the movable jaw in contact with the shank.

6. In a device of the class described, a shank; mounted upon the shank, a movable jaw having a central 0 ening arranged to receive the shank and ar er than the transverse sectionof the shank; a plate arranged to be clam ed to the front of the movable jaw; a U sl n aped springhaving its ends seshank; mounted upon the shank, a movable cured between the plate and the jaw, the In testimony that I claim the foregoing as said spring being bent downward at an angle my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature to the lower face of the movable jaw into in the presence of two witnesses. contact with the rear of the shank and ar- WILLIAM J. STENGER.

-' ranged to hold diagonally opposite edges of Witnesses:

the opening in the movable jaw 1n contact K. H. KANNE, with the shank. P. A. BENSON. 

